Stefano Pioli’s future continues to be at the forefront of speculation when it comes to AC Milan, and a report has outlined the four factors that are at play.
Calciomercato.com report that, compared to a few months ago, Pioli now certainly has a higher chance of keeping his job, but a definitive decision will be made only at the end of the season.
Once the curtain has come down on 2023-24, everyone in the management – CEO Giorgio Furlani, Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic, technical director Geoffrey Moncada and sporting director Antonio D’Ottavio – will analyse the situation with owner Gerry Cardinale.
After the draw against Salernitana just before Christmas, there was a genuine chance that Pioli could have been sacked but the management asked the dressing room and learned that he still has their backing.
Since that moment the team have improved its trend of results in the league, obtaining second place after overturning the seven-point deficit to Juventus. If second spot is maintained, it will certainly be a factor in favour of the Emilian coach.
There are at least three others that will influence the final choice: the first is the journey in the Europa League to erase the stain of elimination in the Champions League group stages.
The second is that a concrete solution to the repeated injury problems must be found, and the final one is how the picture looks in terms of who could come in and replace him.
Milan have explored some profiles and have been monitoring others for some time, but only with the certainty of being able to improve the team with a new top coach will the change on the bench be sanctioned.
All four factors need to be evaluated later on in the season but the most important one is the last one. Can the management secure a coach who is an improvement over Pioli? Crucially the coach retains the squads trust , especially the top players like Leao, Theo, Maignan and Pulisic .
not that hard to improve over Pioli when you acknowledge he is an average coach
He might be an average coach to you but it’s important what he is to Theo, Leao, Maignan, Benna, Puli, Tomori, Reijnders etc.
They play well partly for him and execute their tasks because they are behind him.
There have been top coaches who have not had their squads backing recently, like Tuchel, Pocchettino and Mourinho. The management know if they replace Pioli it has to be the right candidate who will guarantee a better performance then The coach. Easier said then done in acquiring the right person.
But Tuchel, Pocch and Jose are not average coaches.
Players are paid to play. They are professionals and will do their job regardless who is the coach. Furthermore the next coach might even get more out of them in the end. Who knows?
In football there is no guarantees
your Motta and De Zerbi is also average coaches who has done nothing in their careers but media has overhyped them enough that you think once one of them joins Milan, Milan will transform into Madrid and win everything
Average coach… especially compared to the likes of Inzaghi, Montella, Seedorf and Gattuso? LMAO!!! Sure, pal.
im not comparing him to them. But tell me o wise one. What or who was Pioli before he took over Milan?
How is that relevant to anything?
Your argument is that he is an average coach. Yet his tenure at Milan has been well above average compared to the clowns who have coached our club in the last decade.
I want to see an upgrade on him eventually but he deserves praise for his tenure at Milan. Whereas you, I feel, only bash him and use him as scapegoat for every issue at Milan.
its very relevant. As someone who had and average career until Milan that makes for 16 years of average vs 3 years of good coach. So if you wanna judge Pioli as a coach (good, bad, average, superb) you judge him on ALL of his years on the job. And the result is?
Average!
The other clowns, you so desperately wanna incorporate into this, are irrelevant and a straw man from you.
I only bash him for what happens on the pitch, and man. We havent done a proper corner kick in years.. years.. thats basic isnt it? to be able to coach a team into making the most out of a corner kick?
(Reply to the comment below)
I’m not sure you either comprehend or understand my point. (Or what a strawman argument means)
1. Pioli’s career prior to Milan is irrelevant as were judging him based on his results at Milan. At Milan he has been ABOVE average and quite successful. Don’t downplay the Scudetto.
2. The other coaches at Milan who have been subpar were the ones I named. So by comparison to those guys Pioli has done VERY WELL.
3. As to your (irrelevant) point, if a person hasn’t done anything noteworthy up to a point, then had a breakthrough it doesn’t make them irrelevant. It makes them better – finding the right “recipe” so to speak.
It’s like researching cancer cure – if you failed for 20years but finally discovered a Drug that can effectively battle it, it doesn’t make you a s**tty research scientist – it makes you a pioneer.
You just need to be honest and objective about your distaste for Pioli which you display more often than not.
It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you or what proof you see – you will always disregard his accomplishments simply because you don’t like the man and want him out. There’s no reason for you to try to prove anything to the contrary.
Corner kicks…. Seriously? LOL!!! Come on, man. Hahahahahahahaha
Pioli is a good coach. Not average. What he has done is commendable and should be praised. He brought us a title. However he is no Klopp, Pep or Carletto. So let’s also be realistic in that regard as well. All coaches stagnate over time. Some quicker than others. All coaches have a shelf life or cycle. IMO, Pioli has reached the end of that cycle and that is ok. He is a good coach yes but also has weaknesses. He is poor at in game tactics and His over reliance on a set number of players has also hurt us. Now I like Pioli and what he has done for us and continues to do – but if we really want to take the next step and compete in UCL – we need a better tactical coach. Our record against top sides or against tactical managers is below average. That is what we have to look at – not wins against Lower sides. Who that new coach is with our meager budget I don’t know. It will not be an established coach like a Conte or the like because first we will not pay coaches like that with their huge salaries and second we won’t give them the transfer budget they demand. So more likely an up and coming coach like Motta. Are they guarantees? No. Is it a gamble so to speak? Yes. Just like Pioli was 5 years ago when he was first hired – we all were skeptical of hiring a coach that hadn’t won a title before. So would a new coach. But sometimes you have to take a calculated risk in order to improve or take the next step. I also think we are nearing the very end of this cycle with these players. Redbird WILL sell Leao, Theo, Mike etc…eventually. So perhaps we need a new coach to try and get the best out of them and win another title before they are sold. So I wouldn’t be opposed to changing coaches to a more tactical manager and would still be appreciative of all Pioli has done.
average coach with 0 trophies from almost 20 years of coaching.. Who got a lucky break and won a scudeto and is borderline struggling to keep Milan in a top 4 place
A course of a whole season is NOT LUCK. It is a deserved result. That Scudetto was Deserved because at the end of the day we did what we had to and Inter didn’t. Move on with the “lucky” arguments…
it was luck. I shall not move on, cry more
You, my friend, are a dense turtle. Not a flying one.
I agree with you. Pioli has been great. But we do need an upgrade.
Pioli has been the best coach we had in a decade and he helped build solid foundations and won the scudetto, however I (like most fans) would also would like to see a new coach on the bench, someone who can keep the attacking features of the squad but make the team more compact and solid . This will not be easy as the coaches like Motta and De zerbi will be difficult to attain… But I agree with you and ACM1899.
Couldn’t agree more.
Smart take and I agree for the most part although I don’t necessarily agree that we need a new coach per se. But if we do it’s exactly for the reasons you have pointed out. I’d really like just one more year without injuries to clearly make a distinct assessment but I know it’s football and sometimes we don’t get to see things out like that.